#thirdspaces

Creators gathered at Third Space on 8 May to network, share ideas, hear from speakers and receive honest feedback in a community focused setting.

By Aliza Iqbal

Café and events host, Third Space, hosted a networking event that moved beyond the usual idea of self-promotion. Rather than encouraging people to simply exchange names, titles and Instagram handles, the evening focused on something far more valuable: building genuine, meaningful relationships with like-minded people.

The event brought together creators, professionals, entrepreneurs and community voices in a warm and welcoming environment. It was a space where people could connect not just for opportunity, but for support, understanding and long-term growth. In a time where networking can often feel transactional, the Third Space event reminded attendees that the strongest connections are built through a willingness to uplift one another.

From the beginning, the atmosphere felt different from a typical networking event. People were not there only to propel themselves forward or gain something instantly. Instead, there was a clear sense that everyone had come with the intention of meeting others, listening to their stories and forming relationships that could continue beyond the event itself.

The purpose of the event was not simply to “network” in the traditional sense. It was about creating a community. For many creators, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, the journey can feel isolating. It can be difficult to find people who understand the pressure of trying to build something from the ground up while also carrying the responsibility of representing your culture, identity and values. Events like this help change that. They create spaces where people can see that they are not alone and that there are others around them who are also trying, learning and growing.

A key part of the evening was the presence of several speakers who shared their own experiences and reflections on community, creativity and representation. Among the speakers was the owner of Third Space, who spoke about the importance of creating environments where people feel seen, supported and encouraged. Third Space itself has become more than just a physical location. It represents a wider idea: a place where people can come together, share ideas and build something meaningful.

“Third spaces are the places that exist outside of work and home. They are where people come to connect, share ideas and feel part of something. In a world where so many people are building alone, spaces like this give people the chance to find community”, Usaamah Jawad, the owner of Third Space.

BBC reality TV star Alisha Sharma also addressed the room, speaking passionately about the power of community and representation. Her message centred on the importance of South Asians supporting one another in spaces where visibility still matters.

“We have to be willing to open doors for each other,” she told attendees. “Especially as South Asians, our success should not be something we keep to ourselves. It should become something that makes space for the next person, too.”

She also reflected on the impact representation can have on future generations. “When we are visible, we are showing younger people that there is room for them as well,” she said. “That matters, because you cannot become what you never get to see.”

Alisha’s speech also challenged the idea that people from the same community should view each other as competition. Instead, she encouraged attendees to think about success as something that can be shared. In creative industries especially, it can be easy to feel that there is limited space, opportunity and recognition. But the event encouraged a different way of thinking. It reminded people that when one person opens a door, they can help others walk through it too.

This idea of collective progress was felt throughout the evening. Attendees were encouraged to think about networking not as a way to collect contacts, but as a way to build trust. Attendees were also encouraged to bring their sample products and ideas into the space, not simply to receive praise, but to gain honest and useful feedback. This added to the collaborative feel of the event, as creators were able to test their concepts, hear different perspectives and understand how their work could improve. Rather than focusing only on positive reviews, the event created an environment where constructive criticism was welcomed as part of growth.

Third spaces have evolved beyond the four walls of Starbucks - being alone together on low-slung sofas, drinking refillable flat-whites.

Changes in consumer behaviour amongst Millennials are driving shifts in retail & leisure outlet strategies – venues are becoming much more flexible in how they are arranged. Coffee shops have alcohol licenses, clothes shops sell cereal, barbershops are bars, hotels are clubs – Millennials work, eat & play where hybrid-culture is facilitated.

Kith NYC: Part footwear & apparel destination,part cereal bar hangout.

1Rebel Gym: Fitness & a social life are not mutually exclusive; 1Rebel classes are rallied with live music & free beer on site.

And hotels are no different – lobbies have always served as conduits for business meetings & interviews, as well as an opportunity for third party commerce through ground level boutiques, however, traditionally, they have been designed as transitional, functional spaces, rather than dynamic multi-speed, multi-purpose hangouts.

The Line Hotel - Koreatown, Los Angeles

A large arrow-shaped sign on Wilshire Boulevard reads ‘CaFe…free wifi’ and points visitors directly to the entrance of their lobby-side coffee shop which serves habanero mochas and red bean buns. Just one element to the hotel’s ‘come-in’ culture.

The Line Hotel in the heart of K-Town

CaFe flanks the lobby & serves twists on local Korean classics, accessible from street level or via the main entrance.

The Line Hotel was created by The Sydell Group (responsible for The Ace Hotels & The NoMad Hotel in New York) and designer Sean Knibb, together with some of the most entrepreneurial minds in Los Angeles – local legend (and chef) Roy Choi, nightlife kings The Houston Brothers & boutique retailer Poketo.

Together, the tastemakers set out to infuse the hotel with the social makeup of LA, honouring the Korean & Latino communities. Sydell Group founder Andrew Zobler wanted to create a gathering place, a hub, a space where the lobby could act as an ‘extended living room for the entire neighbourhood’.

The Line Hotel lobby with t-shirt clad ceiling & detergent bottle art installation.

While the lobby is the heart of the hotel, the guest rooms reveal its soul.

Millennials now make up a large percentage of the business community and are seeking authentic, local experiences whilst travelling and working, and they don’t want to leave the hotel to find it. Airbnb are gathering momentum with their ‘Belong Anywhere’ strategy, pressuring hotels to work harder at their ‘like you live here’ offering.

Localisation: Roy Choi’s Instagrammable food offer captures the heart of K-town culture. Instant ramen noodles, spam & rice and sweet teas make The Line Hotel the ultimate home-from-home.

Home is where your Wi-Fi connects automatically:

Traffic through The Line’s lobby ebbs and flows throughout the day, designed so that all elements of the space has pace settings – from furniture configurations to lighting, to music and atmospherics, and to their food offering.

Flexible layouts to accommodate varying needs throughout the day.

The space is made up of ‘furniture vignettes’ – a mixture of booths, bar stools and lounge seating, thoughtfully laid out so that the lobby always feels alive and energetic, without feeling claustrophobic. The Line have perfected their social chemistry, adding and subtracting elements so that no one gets in anyone else’s way. Guests and non-guests can be alone, but not lonely – or if they choose together, together.

Free Wi-Fi & accessible electrical outlets, often incorporated into the furniture, are a given – Millennials have created a new definition of what luxury means – bells & whistles are more simplistic, like technology and accessibility.

Lobby furniture with inbuilt plug sockets & superfast Wi-Fi.

A step-change in music, with Tupac’s ‘California Love’ as their war horn, signals another facet to the hotel’s third space offering. What was a working, dining & meeting hangout morphs into a high-energy bar with double the amount of staff, a roster of DJs & a roll-out bottle bar.

The Pot Lobby Bar changes pace from day to night.

The Pot Lobby Bar, the beating heart.

The Line Hotel at night.

Hotels as an after-dark third space destination is not a new concept to Millennials – Jay Z famously cemented this in popular culture with his ‘Fiesta’ opening lyrics ‘After the party it’s the hotel lobby…’

Staff are a key element of The Line’s third space formula - they are the connective glue, nurturing steady guests and converting first-timers into long-standing habitués. Staff are socially smart, they remember their regulars (even after weeks or months of absence) and are thoroughly knowledgeable on all menu items & the local surroundings.

Ted Vadakan & Angie Myung run the lobby store, Poketo - part gift store, part workshop. The husband and wife duo, native to the area, are part of the fabric of what makes The Line’s lobby offering a true distillation of the neighbourhood.

Poketo: Gift store ran by local art & design enthusiasts.

The Line’s third space also plays host to yoga classes, Sunday brunch clubs & is the start & finish line to K-town’s running club.

Shepard Fairey’s ‘Peace Tree’ mural clads the side of the hotel.

Art flows through The Line’s third spaces, starting with the iconic ‘Peace Tree’ mural by Shepard Fairey, he of Obama poster fame. Speaking about the commission on the Obey website, Fairey said “The Line has a bunch of cool art in the interior as well as the exterior, so I’m grateful to be situated in a bit of a creative oasis.”

The Line’s lobby is the intersection of worlds – a leveler – facilitating a sense of commonality amongst its occupants. It’s the first and last impression of the

community that a guest will have and sets the tone for the overall stay. For locals, it’s a hub in their community, or as Zobler set out to create – a living room for the neighbourhood.

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When ever you move into a new neighborhood, normally you want to assimilate yourself within the area and its people. And before reading this article, I didn't think about this idea, that post WWII suburban landscape was anti-community. 

Most residential areas built since World War II have been designed to protect people from community rather than connect them to it. Virtually all means of meeting and getting to know one’s neighbors have been eliminated. An electronically-operated garage door out front and a privacy fence out back afford near-total protection from those who, in former days, would have been neighbors.

On my quest to get to know my new neighborhood of Briarwood, Queens (I've lived here for over a year now) I am trying to visit all the local businesses here, particularly food wise. And when I see a neighborhood along my walk to the train station, I "try" to nod, smile, or acknowledge them in some way. Some times they are looking down or look down, and we both pretend to not see each other, or just make sure we made enough room for the other to not brush up against each other. I'm trying to break this latter habit.

I agree with Oldenburg, when he says it is up to us, the people to create these ad hoc community spaces as meeting grounds for the locals versus the "gray government" (ie. community centers). And it can start as small as saying hello to a neighborhood until it forms a good habit and maybe even a friendship. 

Third places give the gift of friendship. 

Not the singular, lifelong “best” friendship necessarily, but the tonic of friends met in numbers. The great boon to friendship is that which is often called “neutral ground” and third places represent the best of it. On neutral ground people avoid the obligations of both guest and host and simply enjoy the company. They come and go without making arrangements or excuses; they may leave the very moment it suits them to do so. It is a very easy form of human association. When friends meet in numbers, as opposed to “one-on-one,” there is a festive spirit and laughter is frequent. There is an atmosphere of acceptance and belonging that no single friend, no matter how close, can provide.

The corner grocery, a "third place", is alive and thriving, my local market is this tiny cramped mom and pop store that sells a small selection of fresh produce and dairy products, even carrying some specialty Asian (canned goods) and Spanish (cheese and perishables) products. This is where I bump into a gamut of age groups and races. I like to support them by giving them my cash versus the chain Keyfood by me and is also place I can go for a quick walk outside if I haven't left my house at all that day and to pick up a half gallon of milk.

There is a lack in community nowadays. Therefore "political literacy is low in this country" and "only in America" is there this migration of the elderly to the "sun cities" away from their hometown, where they grew up and worked their whole adult life. With a lost of connection between the young and the old. I know I grew up looking up to my teachers and those that were older than me, so I know how imperative that is in maturing and comfort. 

I think the lost of "life on the street," or places that spill over to the outside is because store owners or the government to prevent people from loitering and from homeless people setting up shop. Purposely designing structures, seats, to be uncomfortable or bolted into the ground is already mistrusting the near-future visitor(s). A mindset that is underlying-ly negative. 

However I do believe since this article (Winter 2006-7), we are trying to bridge the vanishing of "third places" with more places and areas to lounge. I know it is also commercially viable for people to be seen at a place, to make the storefront seem busy and enticing for newcomers. Thus the birth of free WIFI, an offering that is on trend. Coworking and studio mate spaces is evidence that we want to be near each other, feel a sense of community again. Places like the High Line pops into my head. I think people congregate around food and so markets like Smorgasburg and Hester Street Fair are super popular weekend outings for the family and the "hip" crowds.

But there is still a disparity between "third places" that bring together the young and the elderly, or just kids and adults. Even in community spaces like the local libraries, areas are designed to separate the age groups with the notion that they do not want to hear the other, or seen near each other. I'm not sure how to solve for this. The stereotype of cranky old people and loud obnoxious young people and screaming kids are hard to fight.

Overall, I come away feeling positive. I think we all want to belong and in this day and age of technology and social media, I see people using the power of the internet to connect away from the screen.

[joie de vivre]